Miller posts second GS win in three races  
 
VAL D'ISERE, 12/12/2004 14:31, France (AP) _ Overall leader Bode Miller showed unusual maturity and restraint Sunday to win a men's World Cup giant slalom. Miller, who won the season-opening giant slalom in Soelden but failed to complete the one in Beaver Creek, covered the fast and shadowy O.K. course at the classic French resort in a two-run combined time of two minutes, 20.66 seconds. The 27-year-old American, known for his go-for-broke style, collared his zeal sufficiently to make sure he finished the opening run. He clocked the fourth-best time, leaving himself 0.30 to make up on the second leg. To the delight of the French fans crowding the finish area, Miller displayed his traditional take-no-prisoners attitude on the second leg, powering back to take the victory. "The first run I definitely held back. I didn't push 100 percent. Second run I let go but made some bad turns," Miller said. "But I won the first race this year in Soelden by more than a second and crashed in the second in Beaver Creek. So it makes sense that I finish here. So I had to decide here how much to hold back and how much to let go. "It's such a tough course. There are lots of blind turns, there's a lot of speed for a GS and it's a long course distance-wise. You can't afford to make a tactical mistake." Lasse Kjus delivered a similarly strong second effort, climbing from fifth to second in 2:20.95. The result consolidates a marked return to form in the discipline for the Norwegian after an eight-year dip. "It's been a long time since I've skied this good in the giant slalom," said Kjus, who won the giant slalom in Beaver Creek last month, his first victory in the discipline since winning in Kranjska Gora in 1996. Austrian ski star Hermann Maier, who led after the opening run and look poised to win his first giant slalom in almost four years, dropped to third place after the second leg with 2:20.99. "I'm very pleased by my achievement this year in GS," said Maier, who was runnerup in Beaver Creek. "For sure it's disappointing because I was leading after the first run. But I knew in the second run I hadn't skied well enough to win. "Still, it's a good feeling to be back in GS." Maier was a dominant force in the discipline between 1999 and 2001 _ winning the World Cup giant slalom title three times as well as the Olympic gold medal in 1998 _ before a motorcycle crash in Aug. 2001 nearly cost him a leg. Since then, "the Herminator" has struggled to regain his form in the twisty gate discipline, with numbness in his leg combined with pressure from his boot on his weakened shin bone making it difficult to gauge how much pressure he's putting on his ski. His last giant slalom victory was in the World Cup final in Are, in March 2001. The victory further padded Miller's lead atop the overall and discipline standings. The 27-year-old American leads overall with 630 points, 291 ahead of second-placed Maier. Miller tops the giant slalom standings with 200 points. Kjus is second on 180, while Maier is third with 156. The day's surprise performance was by 21-year-old Italian rookie Mirko Deflorian. Starting 58th in the opening run, Deflorian ignored the increasingly rutted snow to cross 24th. He then delivered the fastest second leg to finish a stunning fifth, just 0.86 off the pace. 

Franz secures first win of career as Miller misses  
 
VAL D'ISERE, 11/12/2004 12:41, France (AP) _ Austria's Werner Franz finally collected the maiden World Cup downhill victory of his career Saturday, becoming the first man to beat Bode Miller in the discipline this season. Franz charged down the 3,100-meter Oreiller-Killy course in 1 minute, 57.51 seconds, a comfortable 0.27 ahead of his nearest challenger, Marco Buechel of Liechtenstein, to claim his first victory in 98 World Cup downhill starts. Austria's Michael Walchhofer completed the major placings, clocking 1:58.06. American Miller, the winner of the first two downhills this season, just missed the podium, crossing in 1:58.09 for fourth place. Franz's win was the fruit not only of hard work but also of perseverance. Frustrated several times before, Franz had finished runnerup in the downhill seven times previously, and had overcome multiple injuries since starting on the World Cup circuit in 1992. The 32-year-old Austrian's season came to an early end last January when he hurt his shoulder in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria, while preparing for a lower-tier FIS race. Three years ago he shredded his knee ligaments preparing for the season opener in Soelden, Austria. "I was just glad to be allowed back onto the team this year," said Franz, adding that he has kept his career going all these years, determined to finally win a downhill. The Austrian has one other World Cup victory, a super-G in St. Anton in 2000, but it was shared with teammate Fritz Strobl. 

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